OBJECTIVE To examine the secular change of the prevalence of hearing impairment over three decades in U.S. adults with and without diabetes. METHODS The cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES, the 1971-1973 [NHANES I] and the 1999-2004 [NHANES 1999-2004]) were used. Average pure-tone audiometry thresholds in decibels (dB) at 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz frequencies of...

AIMS/INTRODUCTION To identify risk factors for hearing impairment among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS AND MATERIALS A total of 68 patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled between March and September of 2011. Pure-tone auditory tests were carried out for each patient at the following speech frequencies: 250; 500; 1,000; 2,000; 4,000 and 8,000 Hz. Participants were classifi...

Although the associations between albuminuria and renal and cardiovascular diseases, including diabetes and hypertension, have been extensively studied, few studies have investigated the association between albuminuria and hearing impairment. In this study, we assessed the relationship between albuminuria and hearing impairment in 9786 adult Korean subjects, using data from the Korea National H...

Non syndromic hearing impairment is a common sensory disorder, which affects one in 600 newborns. Though more than 50 nuclear genes are involved in causing non syndromic hearing impairment, mutations in the connexin 26 (GJB2) gene explain a high proportion of congenital deafness in several populations worldwide. The diversity of genes and genetic loci implicated in hearing loss defines the comp...

Association of Concurrent Functional Vision and Hearing Impairment With Dementia Among Medicare Beneficiaries

BACKGROUND To examine age-related trajectories of memory function associated with hearing status and to explore potential confounding by sociodemographic, physiological, and behavioral factors in that link. METHODS A national representative sample of Taiwanese adults ≥50 years with and without hearing impairment in 1996 (n = 4,707) were interviewed every 3-4 years until 2007. Cross-sectional ...

OBJECTIVE To identify the prevalence of hearing loss for the population in the urban area. METHODS A cross-sectional household survey based on the World Health Organization Ear and Hearing Disorders Survey Protocol was conducted in 298 households in the urban area of Monte Negro, Rondonia, Northern Brazil, from 2005 to 2007. Ear examinations, behavioral audiometry and pure tone audiometry wer...

OBJECTIVES This study had two aims: (1) to describe the extent of third-party disability in a sample of spouses of older people with hearing impairment, and (2) to investigate factors associated with third-party hearing disability. Third-party disability is defined as the disability and functioning of family members as a result of the health condition of their significant other. DESIGN One hu...

UNLABELLED Earlier evidence was not conclusive about whether hearing loss is associated with mood (i.e., depressive symptoms and anhedonia) and social engagement (i.e., reduced psychosocial involvement and reduced activity levels) in elderly residents living in complex continuing-care facilities. If hearing impairment results in poor mood and lower levels of social engagement, then remedying he...